National Endowment for the Humanities
Mark Twain and American Humor
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...
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Understanding Dialect as Used by Mark Twain
A reading of Mark Twain’s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County not only offers pupils an opportunity to practice their listening skills but also provides them with examples of dialectic speech. This is the gol’derndest lesson...
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Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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Mark Twain
Students examine the life of Samuel Clemens, who is more popularly known as Mark Twain. In groups, they examine and read, if possible, his different books. They discuss how the same book can have different meanings for different...
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American Frontiers
Students study the settlement of the American frontier through literature. In this literature lesson, students read and discuss works by James Fenimore Cooper, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, and Hamlin Garland. Students compare...
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Frame Story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Mark Twain's frame story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" provides an opportunity for a study of this story-within-a-story pattern. Using an illustrated template, class members record a plot summary of the frame story...
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How Far Can a Frog Jump?
Fourth graders are introduced to how to take measurements in the metric system. After defining new vocabulary, they read a story by Mark Twain about jumping frogs. In groups, they simulate a frog jumping contest in which they made...
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Learning Activities: Magic Words
Students use poetry to compare and contrast humans and frogs.
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Writing Applications: Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics
Twelfth graders rewrite a story in a different format to understand the effects of the author's style. In this writing style instructional activity, 12th graders read Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Mark Twain and American Humor
This lesson leads high school students through a greater understanding of the conventions of the literary device of "Humor," through a study of Mark Twain and the story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." A three-part...